PADUCAH, Ky. – The Illinois State men's golf team struggled at the start but closed well to give the team momentum heading into tomorrow's second round of the 2022 MVC Championship.
The Redbirds closed the opening day in seventh place with a first-round 313 (+25), despite two birdies in the final two holes for the squad. Â Southern Illinois leads the field after the first day with an opening-round 295, Drake (298) and Valparaiso (300) rounding out the top three in the field. Bradley, in fourth place, stands just six strokes ahead of ISU with a 307 while Missouri State (309) and Loyola (310) are both within striking distance of the Redbirds. Evansville (316) and Northern Iowa (321) fill in directly behind the Redbirds.
Felix van Dijk was the team leader in the first round, carding a four-over 76. He opened with three pars and a bogey over his first four holes, before carding his first of two birdies on the day on the par-five fifth hole. He closed his front nine with two pars and two bogeys to make the turn at two shots over par. His back nine opened with two pars before he had a double bogey and bogey to push him to five strokes over par. He righted the ship to close the day as he had four pars and a birdie in his last five, with his under-par score coming on the par-four 17th hole.
Joe Hodgson had a balanced day of 39 (+3) on both sides of the course, recording six pars and three bogeys over both the front and back nine, ending the opening round with a six-over 78 for the team's second-lowest score on the day.
Valentin Peugnet also had a dozen pars on his day, and had nearly identical front and back nine's, finishing with a seven-over 79 in his opening round of the MVC Championship.
Freshman Alex McCulla tied for the team-lead with two birdies in his first collegiate conference championship, as he had a six-over front nine, followed by a momentum-gathering 38 (+2) over his final nine holes of the day, including ending the day with a birdie on the par-five 18th hole.
Andrew O'Brien had the team's fifth score, as he stumbled out of the gate by going seven shots over par through the first six holes. He rebounded well by going just three over par over the final 12 holes, including back-to-back birdies on the 11th and 12th holes, ending the day with a 10-over 82.
The 'Birds return to the course on Monday morning, with an estimated and weather-pushed 10:30 a.m. shotgun start.
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